Glassing The Hill: July 20 – 24

The TRCP’s scouting report on sportsmen’s issues in Congress

The House and Senate are in session this week.

Photo courtesy of Library of Congress.

Both chambers gavel in on Tuesday with just two weeks left until the start of an August recess. The last stretch of this work period looks to be chock full of maneuvering around the Highway Bill, especially the extension of the Highway Trust Fund, which expires on July 31. Failure to extend the Trust Fund would bring road projects around the country to a grinding, and politically embarrassing, halt. Last week, the House passed by a wide margin a five-month extension of the Highway Trust Fund that holds just through the end of 2015. The Senate, however, appears set to continue moving forward on a more extensive reauthorization through at least the end of calendar year 2016, setting the stage for a showdown between the two chambers next week.

Also on everyone’s minds: On Sunday, the White House formally presented the negotiated Iran deal to Congress, which will have 60 days to review it.

On the Floor

The House will consider Rep. McKinley’s (R-WV) H.R. 1734 dealing with coal ash as well as H.R. 1599 authored by Rep Pompeo (R-KS) related to GMO food labeling. There is some possibility that the NDAA conference report will be on the House floor late this week.

The Senate will spend the entirety of the week on a Highway Bill reauthorization, with the procedural path forward not entirely clear. It seems unlikely that the Senate will be able to finish the bill this week. Several filibuster threats exist, although for issues not directly related to the bill itself, those hurdles include ending federal funding for Planned Parenthood and reauthorizing the Ex-Im bank.

Welcome to the TRCP’s fifth annual Saltwater Media Summit, where we brought together key members of the media to discuss the most pressing issues facing saltwater recreational fishing. This year, for the first time ever, the summit was held in conjunction with ICAST, the American Sportfishing Association’s trade show in Orlando, Florida. Our one-day summit focused on a variety of conservation topics relevant to the sportfishing community today—and tomorrow.

“We want to get the word out about some important issues relating to sportfishing in America,” said Whit Fosburgh, TRCP’s president and CEO, in his opening remarks to the standing-room-only crowd at the Orange County Convention Center. “There is also a remarkable economic story about sportfishing. It’s big business. And it can’t be exported to China.”

Making Red Snapper Numbers Add Up

In his lead-in to the panel about recreational red snapper fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, one of the fishing community’s most contentious topics, Fosburgh said the species exemplifies everything that’s right and wrong with the Magnuson-Stevens Act. “The folks on the recreational side say they have been shut out of rebuilt fisheries, while the commercial guys are catching a lot of fish,” he said.

Dr. Roy Crabtree, NOAA Fisheries.

Dr. Roy Crabtree, Regional Administrator for the NOAA Fisheries Service, admitted that the council charged with federal oversight of the fish has been in a deadlock over proposed changes to the system, but collaboration between states and federal fisheries managers is, and will be, necessary to satisfy commercial and recreational anglers. “Yes, there are more red snapper out there than there have been for the past 30 to 40 years,” he said. “But in planning the seasons, we’re trying to predict the length of time it should take to reach 80% of the quota, and there’s a margin of error there.”

Crabtree also discussed the challenges of the solutions already on the table for dealing with short recreational seasons and sector separation, including having the states discuss allocation of seasons. “Regional management of red snapper would be complicated,” he said. “Some regions may benefit at the expense of others.”

Both Jessica McCawley of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Randy Pausina of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries called for state oversight of the red snapper in the Gulf and gave examples of innovative new data collection strategies they have begun to implement. “States know their needs best,” said McCawley. “What works for Florida doesn’t work for Louisiana,” added Pausina. “Each state can develop a plan that fits their needs.”

“I have no problem with the states,” said Crabtree at the height of a spirited Q&A with reporters in the room. “They play a huge role. We all work together.”

Can Revamped Fisheries Law Make Washington Work for Recreational Anglers?

Over lunch, two leading fisheries policy experts discussed the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the principal law overseeing marine fisheries management in U.S. federal waters. It was first passed in 1976—or, as speaker Jeff Angers, President of the Center for Coastal Conservation, noted—about the time Steve Jobs was launching Apple. His point was that the world has changed greatly in the past four decades. “But in the last 40 years, there hasn’t been a lot of change in legislative oversight of saltwater fishing,” he said. “We think the next reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act is our time. This is the time the $70-billion recreational fishing industry deserves the attention of Congress.”

Jeff Angers (left), Center for Coastal Conservation: “In the past 40 years, there hasn’t been a lot of changes to legislative oversight for saltwater fishing.” Mike Leonard, American Sportfishing Association: “I don’t think marine fisheries will have a lot of influence in this presidential race. We are still looking for champions in Congress.”

Mike Leonard, Ocean Resource Policy Director for the American Sportfishing Association, added that while Sen. Rubio has been a champion for fisheries and has declared his bid for the presidency, Magnuson-Stevens probably won’t be a topic of the first debate in a few weeks. “I don’t think marine fisheries will have a lot of influence in this presidential race,” said Leonard.

What a Few Billion Dollars Could Buy in Gulf Coast Restoration Projects

Pollster Karoline Richardson McGrail of Public Opinion Strategies kicked off this session with the results of an exclusive poll conducted on behalf of TRCP and the Nature Conservancy. Gulf residents overwhelming supported using the fines resulting from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster on Gulf restoration and conservation projects. While 68 percent supported restoration, according to McGrail, only 17 percent favored using the funds for construction of roads, convention centers, school buildings, and other projects on the Gulf Coast.

Kelly Samek of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission explained how she’s helping to divert funds, like the BP spill settlement dollars, to useful restoration projects. “I match needs to dollars,” she said. “There’s a lot of money coming in from a lot of different places.” She cited recent restoration projects at Escribano Point, Fla., near the border of Alabama, as a successful use of funds to restore coastline.

Ted Venker, Conservation Director for the Coastal Conservation Association, discussed the years of work and fundraising it took to open the Cedar Bayou on Texas’s Gulf Coast, one of the state’s iconic fish passes connecting the Gulf with important wildlife estuaries. “There are hundreds of projects like this around the country that can be unlocked” with money from the BP multi-billion-dollar settlement, he said.

Keep checking the TRCP’s website as we share stories from our media attendees and other results from the summit. And if you’re interested in joining us next year, reach out to Kristyn Brady at kbrady@trcp.org.

Fishing in the beehive: The floor of the ICAST conference was a beehive of activity as attendees sought information and insights about the latest products related to recreational fishing.Ready for his closeup: TRCP’s Chris Macaluso (center) was interviewed for World Fishing Network’s live stream by Lynn Burkhead and Chad LaChance.Costa’s Amanda Sabin and Jim Stewart.Model behavior: Simms shows off the latest in fishing fashion.Whit Fosburgh, president and CEO, TRCP: “We need healthy marine fish populations if we’re going to be successful as recreational fishermen.”

Jessica McCawley, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Committee: “States know their needs best.”Randy Pausina, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, on the nine-day Gulf red snapper season for rec. anglers: “It’s just unacceptable.”Hundreds of ICAST guests jammed into Orlando’s Howl at the Moon nightclub for Costa’s annual ICAST party where they enjoyed shrimp, cocktails, cold beer and hot music.Hundreds of ICAST guests jammed into Orlando’s Howl at the Moon nightclub for Costa’s annual ICAST party where they enjoyed shrimp, cocktails, cold beer and hot music.

A new poll completed by the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and The Nature Conservancy shows that Gulf Coast voters remain very concerned about the impacts of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster and overwhelmingly support using the fines resulting from the oil spill on Gulf restoration and conservation projects. More than three in five voters (61 percent) say that the “after-effects of the BP oil spill on natural areas and wildlife along the Gulf Coast” are an “extremely” or “very serious” problem for the region. That figure is up from 57 percent in 2013 and ranks among the top concerns of the region: the economy (67 percent), education (66 percent), and crime (62 percent).

“This poll reveals continued strong concern by the people of the Gulf region for the health of the Gulf of Mexico and the strong belief by a broad cross-section of the population that funds from the recently announced settlement with BP should be invested in restoring and conserving the natural features that make the Gulf such a beautiful, biologically rich, and productive place,” said Robert Bendick, Director of The Nature Conservancy’s Gulf of Mexico Program.

Image courtesy of Louisiana GOHSEP.

Nearly seven in ten (68 percent) voters said RESTORE Act funds “should be used mainly for restoration of our beaches, wildlife habitat, coastal areas, rivers and other waters that affect the Gulf Coast.” Just 17 percent preferred that funds “be used mainly for construction of roads, convention centers, school buildings, and other projects on the Gulf Coast.” Republicans (68 percent) were even more likely than Democrats (58 percent) to prioritize restoration projects over construction. More than a third of the residents polled said that they’ve purchased a license to hunt or fish in the last three years, and these sportsmen were also more likely to back conservation projects.

“The economy and culture of the Gulf Coast are absolutely dependent upon access to high-quality fishing and other recreational activities,” said Whit Fosburgh, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership’s president and CEO. “Gulf residents recognize the significance of this opportunity to repair the direct damage from the oil spill, as well as long-term threats to the quality of the entire ecosystem, using fines from the 2010 disaster. Investing in the Gulf’s fisheries, wildlife, beaches, and waters is not choosing between the ecosystem and the economy. The ecosystem is the economy.”

The bipartisan research team of Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates (D) and Public Opinion Strategies (R) partnered to complete this survey of registered voters along the Gulf Coast. The results show little change from a similar survey completed in 2013, illustrating that voters place a lasting value on the health of the Gulf as contributing to the region’s economy and culture.

The poll will be presented in detail today at the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership’s annual Saltwater Media Summit, a gathering of journalists to discuss the most timely conservation policy issues impacting saltwater fishing. This year, the event takes place at ICAST, the world’s largest sportfishing trade show, where TRCP has invited science and policy experts to discuss red snapper management and harvest collection, reauthorization of the country’s major fisheries conservation law, and priority projects for Gulf Coast habitat restoration in the wake of an $18.7-billion settlement from BP. Notable speakers include Dr. Roy Crabtree of NOAA Fisheries and representatives of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, American Sportfishing Association, Center for Coastal Conservation, and Coastal Conservation Association.

Sportsmen are in on the conversation about drought planning

Today, the National Drought Resilience Partnership (NDRP) will bring stakeholders together at the U.S. Department of the Interior for the White House Drought Symposium, made possible with the support of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP). Nearly 40 diverse stakeholder groups will be represented to discuss the federal government’s role in building drought resilience into our water management systems and the steps that federal agencies should take to forestall future drought crises. Sportsmen hope the event will result in concrete steps that the federal government can take on drought planning and 21st century approaches to water conservation that will benefit fish, wildlife, and all Americans.

“The ongoing drought crisis creates a unique opportunity to change our water management systems so they are more resilient against future threats,” said Jimmy Hague, the TRCP’s Center for Water Resources director. “The groups gathered at the symposium have a track record of implementing innovative and effective projects on the ground to improve water resources and preserve working lands, and I’m confident that our input will set the stage for federal actions for years to come.”

Image courtesy of Mia Sheppard.

Sportsmen will urge the administration to advance widely-supported conservation and water-efficiency measures to meet water demands while protecting and restoring the healthy river flows that ensure access to quality fish habitat. Hunting and angling stakeholders will also call for a renewed commitment and creative approaches to conservation funding.

“As brutal drought conditions continue throughout the West, cooperation among agricultural producers, conservation interests, and municipal users is essential,” said Laura Ziemer, Trout Unlimited’s senior counsel and water policy advisor. “We appreciate the opportunity to participate in the symposium and provide recommendations based on our work with farmers and ranchers in California, the Klamath Basin, the Yakima River Basin, and the Colorado River Basin to improve irrigation systems in a way that provides drought resilience for water supplies and fisheries.”

“The Nature Conservancy supports a proactive approach to achieve healthy ecosystems and related economies in the face of drought,” said Doug Robotham, water policy director for The Nature Conservancy. “We are working with these partners to find common ground and new ways to be more efficient and effective with the water we have and ensure that we will have the water we need for years to come. California’s severe drought or that which has affected the Colorado River Basin for the last 15 years, and which may be the worst in the last 1,200 years, demand flexible and innovative approaches to meeting the fresh water needs of cities, farms, and wildlife. We are all in this together.”

Other TRCP partners in attendance will include the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. For examples of the good work these groups are doing on water projects in local communities, see our Snapshots of Success report.